2023-08-03 20:00:03
The Technological infrastructure of Ukraine it has been an objective of the Russian Army since the start of what is called by Moscow “special military operation” on February 24, 2022. In fact, at the dawn of the offensive, the Kremlin forces demolished the Kiev telecommunications tower, something which harmed the broadcasting of Ukrainian television at that time. “We warn Ukrainian citizens, used by Ukrainian nationalists to carry out provocations against Russia, as well as Kiev residents that they live near the relay nodes so that they leave their homes,” the Russian Ministry of Defense announced at the time. The video of the destruction of the tower was also covered by Russian state media, which avoided mentioning who demolished the infrastructure.
Russians are destroying the Kyiv TV Tower.
They are trying to cut us off from communications. pic.twitter.com/ppi264K5Jf— Illia Ponomarenko ???????? (@IAPonomarenko) March 1, 2022
Also at the beginning of the Russian offensive, billionaire Elon Musk gave Ukraine the support of his starlink satellites, something that was key for the kyiv troops to keep up with Russia. The Ukrainian networks lost power since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, something that was compensated by the signal provided by the satellites of this company. Moscow, aware of this cooperation, has tried blow up the connection in the neighboring country and the use of Starlink has not been exempt from this cyber war. Russian ‘hackers’ have been trying since 2022 to stop this system from working in the country, or at least limit it.
But technology is not the only critical infrastructure targeted by the Kremlin. The Ukrainian grain export agreement, which allowed the export of grain to the international market, was canceled last July. This measure has been accompanied by a intense Russian bombing campaign against the Black Sea ports, especially Odessa and its port infrastructure to limit Ukrainian trade. Some experts point out that what this strategy seeks is to damage the country’s economy, in addition to “deinternationalizing” the Russo-Ukrainian conflict itself to undermine the solidarity of third countries with Kiev, something that was discussed at the Russia-Africa summit, in which Moscow He promised grain to some countries on the African continent and strengthened ties with them.
Another key infrastructure for Ukraine damaged has been the Nova Kakhovka dam. Although most experts, the international community and the Ukrainian government blamed Moscow for being behind the destruction of this facility, Russia has actively denied responsibility for this act. The Kremlin even blamed Ukraine for this incident, even though the region where it was located was under Russian control at the time. The destruction of the dam caused great floods both in areas under Russian and Ukrainian rule and caused the death of at least 58 people. Some 40,000 people were affected.
Russia “unpredictable”
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Dionis Cenusa, a risk analyst at the Eastern Europe Studies Centre, points out that although Russia “is unpredictable and adjusts its war strategy against Ukraine according to the battlefield conditions and taking into account the geopolitical events surrounding” the Slavic country. It argues that if the Ukrainian counteroffensive were to reach as far as Crimeathen “Russia could sabotage the Titan factory in Armiansk causing a natural disaster technical ammonia release“. Remember that Russian troops have already “mined this factory and could blow it up at any time when it’s convenient”, something similar to what was seen at the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia.
The West has supported Ukraine both financially and militarily. A good part of the military equipment that allows kyiv to resist the Russian attacks comes from the United States and countries of the European Union. Cenusa points out that, despite the support it has already received, “Ukraine needs more anti-missile systems to protect their critical infrastructure.” “Patriot systems are useful for intercepting ballistic missiles,” he adds. Both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly used kamikaze drones against their targets, some of them even hitting large Ukrainian and Russian cities. For this reason, according to the analyst, “cheaper and simpler weapons are needed to bring them down.” To protect the Ukrainian skies, kyiv has long been asking the West to provide fighters F16something that would allow them to enjoy greater air coverage.
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